


OQ Angst Fest

by YouAreMyFuture23



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-26 18:49:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15669135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouAreMyFuture23/pseuds/YouAreMyFuture23
Summary: 5. Please don't leave.21. I came to say goodbye.10. What's the point anymore?#OQAngstFestThe aftermath of a huge battle in Storybrooke leaves our heroes devastated.Warning! Character death.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> 5\. Please don't leave.  
> 21\. I came to say goodbye.  
> 10\. What's the point anymore?  
> #OQAngstFest
> 
>  
> 
> The aftermath of a huge battle in Storybrooke leaves our heroes devastated.
> 
> Warning! Character death.

* * *

 

 

**Battle**

  
  
Once the battle is won and the good guys have emerged victorious Regina starts looking around for Henry. She doesn't remember seeing him, at all. Regina starts to get nervous, she's got this strange feeling creeping up her spine. Henry would never miss the final fight. Something's wrong.

 

“He went to Violet, he's probably still with her.” Emma tells her when she looks over at her because she already knew the question she was going to ask.

 

Regina starts running to Granny's immediately, everyone following behind her. Regina, the Evil Queen and Snow reach the door to the room first. Violet is sitting outside the room in a ball, crying into her knees. The girl looks up at them for only a second and shakes her head. Regina's heart stops, her breathing stops. Someone reaches out and takes her hand but she barely feels it. 

 

She can't move, she can't breathe. 

 

She doesn't want to walk into that room and have her absolute worst fear realized. 

 

Her mind knows what's happening, but her heart is holding on to a slim thread of hope. If she walks into that room it will all be real. 

 

"Regina?" She hears her name being whispered, so she tilts her head ever so slightly to her right where Snow is standing, clutching to her hand. "Do you want me to go with you?" And Snow would offer that, to stay with her in the worst moment of her life. It would be a lie to say a small part of her didn't want to do this alone, but she wants her last moment with her son to be private, just the two of them.   
  
She shakes her head and releases Snow's hand. If she doesn't start moving soon someone else will try to enter the room. She wants to be first, the first to see him. As she turns to the group behind her she stands up as straight as she can, to fake that she has any semblance of control left. Charming is holding tight to Emma as she violently tries to push him away with her sobs, she's not moving to get away, it appears she simply wants to hit something. Hook looks like he doesn't know what to do, just standing there watching his wife swing at her father. 

 

The Evil Queen is on her knees with Robin's arms around her, a far less violent reaction than Regina would have expected. 

 

Zelena is moving through the mess of crying people to stand in front of her, she doesn't move to touch her, doesn't get closer than a foot, just stands there and nods.   
  
Regina whispers out, "I want a minute with him," because she won't be able to speak the words, forcing them past her lips in a whisper was hard enough. Zelena nods as a tear falls down her cheek, she will make sure that her wish is honored.   
  
"You'll get as much time as you need," she hears Snow whisper beside her who's trying as desperately as she is to hold it together.    
  
Regina turns back away from the group to face the door and angrily wipes at her eyes as she takes a few slow steps forward. She wants to stop crying, she needs to stop crying. She wants to talk to Henry and she can't do it properly through sobs. After another deep breath she lets the air completely fill her lungs then pushes it out slowly as her hand grips the door knob. This is it. This is when her world ends, her heart shatters, her souls gets ripped from her body.   
  
She pulls her hand quickly away from the doorknob and shakes it out.   
  
She's not ready. 

 

She'll never be ready. 

 

But she has to do this. She has to.   
  
The second her hand touches the knob she turns it, thrusts the door open, jumps inside and closes it back to lean her forehead immediately against it. She doesn't want to turn around yet. Doesn't want to see him yet. Opening the door and stepping inside was hard enough, actually walking into the room isn't happening just yet. 

 

She didn't look into the room when she opened the door, kept her eyes focused on the floor to be sure she didn't catch sight of anything she wasn't ready to see. 

 

This is the hardest thing she's ever had to do. Even harder than taking her father's heart. A mother's love for her child is deep and eternal. No mother should have to look at her child's lifeless body. 

 

But she's kept him waiting long enough. Needs to pull herself together and go see her son. He deserves a proper goodbye. 

 

She stands up straight and wipes at the steady stream of tears running down her cheeks. When she finally does turn around she keeps her gaze on the floor just in front of her while taking small steps so she doesn't take too much in at once. After a few tiny steps forward she starts to see a pool of blood on the floor and she closes her eyes quickly. When she opens them back up she looks a little further to see the body of a man she doesn't recognize. He's dead, he has to be, there's too much blood surrounding his body for him not to be. She gets a little braver after that and looks up fully into the room and sees her son half lying on the bed with a knife in his chest. 

 

Suddenly her legs give out and she's on her knees sobbing into her hands. She wasn't prepared for something so violent, for so much blood. He's coated in it. His chest, his stomach, the bedding beneath him. 

 

She needs to know what happened, exactly what went on here. Reaching a hand out she waves it over the dead man's forehead and pulls his memory out in the form of a dreamcatcher. When she pulls it in front of her face an image starts to play and she's watching what happened from afar. 

 

The man bursts in the room where Henry and Violet were sitting, Henry jumps up and whips out his sword. They battle and she jumps every time their blades connect. Henry suddenly knocks the blade out of the other man's hand and immediately runs him through just like she taught him to do if someone was threatening his life. She smiles, feeling pride in the valiant way her son fought. The smile disappears when the man pulls out a dagger and stabs it into Henry's chest. She gasps and throws the dreamcatcher away. The look in Henry's eyes as the blade went in will haunt her for the rest of her days. 

 

Maybe that was a mistake watching that. Maybe she shouldn't have done it.

 

But when she looks up at her son's body, tears blueing her sight she knows she did the right thing. That closure was something she would have regretted not having. 

 

She crawls over to her little boy on her hands and knees and grabs hold of his ankle the second she's close enough. Her breaths are violent and shaking with her sobs. That doesn't matter anymore though, she can't seem to remember why it did in the first place. Her little boy is gone, all she wants to do is cry. 

 

She sits up a bit to look at him on the mattress and she covers her mouth to keep the loud sob quiet. This is her worst fear, she's looking at her worst fear becoming realized and it's too much to handle. Taking hold of his hand she buries her face in the fabric of his jeans and just cries. She pulls back when there's something wet against her forehead, she reaches up to touch it and her hand comes back blood covered. Her son's still seeping blood is covering her forehead. 

 

They can't have that. 

 

She pushes herself to her feet and looks down at him. With a wave of her hand the knife and blood surrounding him on the mattress are gone. That's better. Then with another pass and a whispered spell his body is preserved. Her little boys body will stay exactly like this. 

 

As she sits on the bed she drops a hand to his chest half expecting to feel the slight rise and fall of his breathing. It breaks her heart all over again when there's no movement. She doubles forward and drops her forehead to his chest, can't stop the gasping sobs from escaping now. Her little boy is gone, last breaths taken, heart stopped. 

 

This can't be real.

 

But it is.

 

“I came to say goodbye, sweetheart,” she sobs, “but I don't think I can.” 

 

It seems impossible after seeing him. He looks so peaceful, now, all cleaned up. Just looks like he's sleeping, but he's not. She brushes his hair back off his forehead and admires her beautiful little boy. “You are everything to me, and I'm sorry I couldn't protect you.” 

 

She dips down to kiss his forehead and lingers for a long while out of hope that true loves kiss will work once more and she'll be allowed a miracle. No such luck. When she pulls away there's no surge of magic, no rush of air that usually follows an act of true love. Her little boy is still laying there just as still as he was before.

 

It's over, she has to face that. No magic, no true love's kiss can save him. He's gone.

 

She shifts on the bed, curls up in a ball and rests her head on his chest to lay with him as long as she can. Every last second is precious because she won't get many more, everyone deserves their time to say goodbye. But for now, she is going to lay with her son for as long as she needs.

 

* * *

 

 

She made it through the funeral, even made it through most of the reception and spent time with her grieving family. Was even polite and patient with the town's people as they one by one came up to her and showed her how sorry they were in their own ways.    
  
Rumple walked up to her while she was sitting in a booth, the very same one she sat at during Robin's wake. He dropped a hand to hers on the table, gave it a squeeze and walked away. It was perfect. After all their years together he knew she didn't need words in that moment, they were useless. He knew her so well because they were much the same.    
  
She stayed there for as long as she could, listened to Emma and Snow sob to different people, but there was only so much she could take.

  
Now that she is kneeling beside Henry's casket, still not lowered into the ground, she finally feels free, it’s just her and her son and she can do and say whatever she wants.

 

The first thing she wants to do is rip the throat out of the man that did this to her son. If she could use magic to bring people back from the dead she'd bring her son back first then the dead man that killed him just so she could kill him again. Slowly this time. Rip his heart out and squeeze it at a glacial pace, drag it out, until it shattered and turned to dust and he collapsed dead at her feet. 

 

Since she can't do that she'll settle for chucking a fireball into the air and watching it burn out. She wants to destroy this entire cemetery but she can't do that, she can't destroy the final resting place of so many. It's then that she realizes there's truly only one thing she wants to destroy.

 

With a flick of her wrist a dummy form of the man that killed her son appears ten feet away from her and she throws a fireball directly at his chest, watches the flames take over his body and flicker and burst until he's a chard heep. The body falls to the ground and bursts into dust then gets blown away by the wind, like it was never there. She conjures another dummy but this time aims the ball of flames for his face and watches the flesh melt away slowly. Once that ones gone it's still not enough. 

 

She stands and spins in a circle with her hand outstretched. When she stops she's surrounded by exact copies of the man she hates most in the world surrounding her. The next fireball she lets loose she screams with it and moves it towards his body as quickly and as harshly as she can. That body falls back to the ground with a thunk and slowly burns away until it too turns to ash in the wind.

 

It's a funny thing, magic. It can destroy so much without leaving a trace behind if you know what you're doing, and she does. All of the bodies she has destroyed, and plans to destroy, will disappear with no trace left behind, like they never existed.

 

She starts to move quicker then, using both hands to hit them on both sides. Tight balls of fire connecting with faces and chests and groins only to ignite the form they come in contact, then spread and devour until there's nothing left.

 

Once there all gone she conjures one more, this one the most lifelike of them all. She blasts him backwards with a magical force and watches him tumble backwards along the ground. Then she thrusts him up in the air with a vice grip around his neck and pulls him towards her. Once he's a few feet away from her she slams him to the ground to only raise him in the air and thrust him down again. But that's enough magic, she wants to actually get her hands on him, so she does. Kneels next to him to wrap her hands around his throat as tightly as she can. But all that's pointless because he's not really alive, he's not even real. And yet, she still wants to abuse this fake corpse. So, she takes hold of his head and bangs it against the ground with as much force as she can muster. Next she conjures a knife and plugs it into his chest over and over. All the while she's screaming at this form of the man that took everything away from her, crying over the loss of her perfect little boy.

 

After she's raged and screamed and cried and exhausted herself she gets rid of the mangled dummy and goes back to kneeling beside Henry, her heart in her hand. She is truly going to do it this time because what's the point of living anymore. She is going to squeeze until it is dust. She is going to be with her son again.    
  
"Don't worry, baby, I'll be with you soon," she whispers, before she starts to squeeze.    
  
"Milady, don't!"   
  
Her fingers go lax immediately.   
  
She knows that voice. It is the voice of someone long lost to her. 

 

Her mind is trying to play tricks on her and she isn't going to let it. She starts to squeeze again, harder, to get it over with.   
  
"Mom, no!"   
  
Her heart falls out of her hand.    
  
She turns to see her son and soulmate walking up behind her. 

 

When she opens her arms her son runs to them and crashes into her chest. Robin walks over slowly, kneels beside them and reaches for something behind her.

 

“I've got your heart,” he says with a smile as he grips the glowing object gingerly in his hand.

 

Regina smiles and tells him, “you always have.” Then cups his cheek. Robin grips her wrist and turns his head to kiss her palm. He falls into them then and wraps his arms around Henry and herself so tightly. 

 

“This isn't real is it?” She whispers while her arms are still around them. They feel real. She's holding them and touching them and they feel real, but they can't be. 

 

“I'm afraid not, love.” Robin mumbles in her ear. She pulls them both in tighter after that because if this isn't real they could both disappear in a second. 

 

“Don't worry, mom.” Henry's voice is muffled by how closely she's holding him so she loosens her grip a bit. “We aren't just going to float away. We won't leave until you're ready.”

 

She pulls back to look at them both. “Then you'll never leave.”

 

They are both chuckling at her even though they know it's the truth. 

 

She gives Henry several kisses on his cheeks then does the same to Robin but he stops her and connects their lips for a moment. Nothing too intimate, Henry is there beside them, but it's soft and sweet. 

 

“You have to live your life, Regina. There are so many things you have left to do.” Robin tells her when he pulls back, but that just has her looking at her son and thinking of all the things he won't get to do now.

 

“But what about you,” she holds Henry's face between her hands, “your life was barely lived.” Now he won't get to graduate from high school, go to college, get married, have children of his own. Her son doesn't get to have any of that. 

 

“Mom, I got to live the best life,” he tells her with a smile. “My grandparents were Rumplestiltskin, Snow White and Prince Charming!” He says excitedly. “I was raised by the most iconic villain ever know, and she loved me better than anyone else. And I got to die how I always wanted, as a hero.”

 

“Oh Henry, you have always been a hero. You saved me from the day I brought you home.” He blushes at that, her precious little boy, and drops his eyes away from her. “It's true,” she insists. “Without you I never would have become the person I am today, I wouldn't have had a reason to change in the first place.” She looks over at Robin then. “And your guidance and support helped move me to the light. I couldn't have done it without you.”

 

Robin takes her hand and kisses her knuckles. “I have the utmost confidence that you would have succeeded quite splendidly without me, but it was a sincere pleasure to have the honor of helping in any small way.” 

 

As she looks between the two most important men in her life she starts to cry again because she knows this won't last, they can't stay forever. “Will I get to see you again?” she whispers. 

 

“Of course, mom.” Henry shakes his head like it should be obvious.

 

Robin nods in agreement, “we'll be here whenever you need us.” He moves a hand to rest over her heart and she melts into it. “We're always right here.”

 

She nods and looks between them once more, gives both their hands a squeeze. They both give her the brightest smiles and somehow she just knows she'll see them again soon. She sucks in a shaky breath and manages to give them both a soft smile, then she's closing her eyes and when she opens them they are both gone. 

  
It's hard to explain, but she knows she'll see them again, in her dreams. 


	2. Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2\. Leave me alone.  
> 5\. Please don't leave.  
> 13\. Can you please wake up.  
> 15\. You knew, and you did it anyway.  
> 18\. I'm standing here alone now.  
> 43\. I miss you.
> 
> #OQAngstFest

* * *

 

**Alone**

  
  


The moment she is in her own home, the moment the door is closed and the world is shut out, all she wants to do is scream. Wants to throw something, hit something or someone until they feel the pain she is feeling. The heartbreak she is, yet again, being forced to feel because of yet another lost love.    
  
Her soulmate in fact. The man she had almost lost more than once. She had run away from him, had watched him go back to his returned from the dead wife. Even with those things, even with him knowing the person she was, the terrible things she had done in her past, he still chose her.    
  
Clearly she is not meant to be happy, to receive her happy ending, because it was ripped from her moments after it appeared. He is gone, unable to return. She watched him walk across the town line and walk away with his family.    
  
She feels as though her heart went with him. Though, if he really had taken her heart with him she wouldn't be feeling the way she does now. She would be feeling more numb instead of like her chest is caving in, like she can't breath, like someone is squeezing her heart in their fingers just on the cusp of crushing it. For a moment she thinks of taking it out, of putting it in a box and storing it away so she won't feel the full blow of this excruciating experience.    
  
Then she thinks of what he would say, of how he would feel about her removing her heart. He would tell her he understands why she feels she needs to do it, to rid herself of some of the pain, pain of his own doing. In doing this she is robbing herself of hurt, but also of love. He doesn't want her in pain, but he wants her to be able to love, and love fully, even if it can't be with him.    
  
The thought of him saying those things has new tears pricking in her eyes. She shuts them tightly and groans.    
  
She feels weak.    
  
Weak because she let him in so easily even when she knew that hurt would surely follow. She should have kept herself closed off and protected, then she would never have found herself in this situation, again. Mourning over lost love, love that she was too weak to keep out.    
  
How could she be so stupid as to let him so easily tear down the walls it took her decades to build up. She let him charm his way into her heart with his accent, adorable dimples and ocean blue eyes. With the way he looked at her he made her feel important and loved. As if she were the most beautiful woman in all the realms, and to him she was.    
  
Through his eyes she appeared perfect. Even with everything in her terrifying past. All the lives she ruined, people she killed, terrible torture she inflicted. He looked past all that to the person she is, the person she is changing into, and dare she say it, the person he helped her become.    
  
He had never looked at her with fear or hate, only with love and admiration. He believed she could be completely good, he believed in her more than anyone, he believed in her when she couldn't believe in herself.    
  
But now, now he is gone.    
  
How is she supposed to keep believing? Keep fighting to be good when it gets her nowhere. She is right back to being eighteen and in that barn with the dead body of her lost love in her arms. It has happened to her again. She let it happen again.    
  
Now the sadness is gone and replaced with rage, hot, boiling rage. She pushes herself from the door and walks over to the mirror to peer at her reflection. She looks awful, her eyes are bloodshot and puffy, her nose is red and her cheeks are tear stained. She is furious that she has let this affect her so completely, that she let herself get in this situation at all.    
  
Then she realizes this isn't her, this was Emma. If she hadn't been so stupid as to play with magic she knew nothing about, to bring someone back from another time and risk everyone's safety, not to mention that the person she brought just so happened to be Robin's dead, well not dead anymore, wife, which ruined Regina's life.    
  
She is so incredible angry. Hasn't been this livid since her step daughter, precious little Snow White, had told a secret and gotten her first love killed.    
  
It runs in the family apparently, the ability to ruin her life in one move.    
  
Those insipid heroes, always thinking they are doing right without thinking of the consequences of their actions.    
  
This is good, she thinks, anger is a distraction from pain. Rage is so much easier than pain, far more useful. Now she is thinking of the oh so many extravagant ways she can get her revenge on the so called Savior.    
  
Then suddenly her mind goes to her son, whom she would not have if it were not for the savior. He would never forgive her if she hurt his birth mother and she can't lose him, not again, not when he is the only thing she's got left.    
  
Now she has started pacing back and forth in her entry way. No love, no revenge, what can she do now but sit here with her feelings. Her roving emotions that have gone from anger to sadness yet again.    
  
If Robin were here he would be her voice of reason, tell her what to do. He would stop her pacing, gather her in him arms and hold her until she calmed down. Though, if he were here she wouldn't be in this impossible situation at all.    
  
Okay, anger it is.    
  
When she stops in front of the mirror again she has an incredible urge to grab it from the wall and throw it to the floor just to watch it shatter into a million pieces, shards that would then match her shattered heart. She doesn't, though, instead reaches for the glass paperweight that is sitting on the small table under the mirror, grips it tightly between her fingers before turning and hurling it towards the wall as hard as she can.    
  
Usually destroying something makes her feel better, but this time it doesn't. So, she moves on to the living room and picks up a lamp only to chuck it to the ground. She continues this until everything that can be broken or shattered is utterly destroyed. The entire downstairs in complete ruins.    
  
She pauses, out of breath and sweating. She has destroyed everything, and yet, she wants to destroy more. So, she conjures a fireball in her hand with the full intent to burn the entire house to the ground, but she doesn't. She stops, looks to her hand and watches the flames.    
  
What good will it do to destroy the house with her in it. But then again, who would miss her? What if she just ends it now, ends the pain.    
  
No.    
  
She can't do that, not to Henry, he can't lose his mother. So, she throws the fire ball into the fireplace and crumples to her knees.    
  
She is violently sobbing now, so much so that she can't breath. She's hyperventilating and her visions is starting to blur with the lack of oxygen and overabundant supply of carbon monoxide. She falls down to her side and curls into a ball as tight as she can. Her movements cause shards of glass to dig into her side but who cares really. At least now she is feeling actual real pain, not the pathetic pain that is only within her own heart.    
She doesn't know how long she lays there, doesn't really care. But the tears have stopped now. Not because she finally found the will power to hold them back, because there are simply no more tears left. She has cried all of the liquid out of her body and is just breathing violently now and sobbing dryly.    
  
She should get up, she knows she should, but she still can't bring herself to. When she shifts a little she can feel the glass on the floor dig into her shoulder deeper.    
  
She really should get up. She places her palm on the floor only to feel the sting of glass shards digging into it, further still when she pushes against the floor more firmly until she is sitting upright. Now the glass is digging into her hip and she can feel blood trickling down her forearm. Let is fall.    
  
She puts both hands on the ground and pushes back until she can plant her feet on the ground. It's a difficult movement, her entire body feels heavy. She pushes herself into a standing position anyway and looks down at the ground. There's little pools of blood where her side was positioned on the glass.    
  
She glances around the room to see everything in disarray. She doesn't really remember doing it, never does remember her actions when she's in the middle of a red hot rage.    
  
She doesn't regret this. She can magic everything back to the way it was with a flick of her wrist if she wants to. She doesn't want to.    
  
She feels the blood run down her hand and slip off of the tip of her finger to hit the glass on the floor. She watches it a moment. Blood drip, drip, dripping from her middle finger and landing on the hardwood. It's somewhat soothing watching her own blood trickle from her body. It makes her feel like she can still be hurt, even after everything.    
  
She hears a rustling in the foyer but can't bring herself to move her gaze from her hand as another drop of blood slips from her fingertip. She hears a voice, doesn't know who's or what they said, just keeps staring. She feels a hand on her cheek and someone's head moves into her vision. She can't focus on it, her eyes won't adjust. She feels foggy, hazy, like the room is spinning and she's not. She closes her eyes for a moment and the next time she opens them she feels a mattress beneath her and a cool rag on her forehead.    
  
Snow. It was Snow who was with her earlier, and who's taking care of her now. She takes in her sympathetic smile as she takes the cool cloth from her forehead only to wet it and place it back.    
  
She hates this. The sympathy. She doesn't want people feeling sorry for her, taking care of her. She wants to suffer alone. She wants to slip further and further into the darkness until she's lost in it.    
  
It's safe there. It's cold there, deep within the darkness. She doesn't have to feel there. She knows Snow won't let her go there now, not when she's already stopped her once.

 

“Just leave me alone, Snow.” She waves her hand away from her forehead and rolls over to face away from her.

 

“We both know that's not going to happen,” Snow tells her defiantly and it has her huffing out an aggravated breath. 

 

“I would rather suffer in silence if you don't mind.”

 

“I very much mind,” Snow says firmly, “if in that silence you are going to hurt yourself.” She feels the bed dip behind her then a hand on her arm. “You probably would have let yourself bleed out if I didn't come over.”

 

“I was going to heal it eventually.” 

 

“Why didn't you heal it immediately?” And Snow must not realize how hard of a question that is to answer, she wouldn't have asked it otherwise. Before she can even think of an excuse Snow is providing her with an answer, one that is far closer to the true reason than she would have expected. “Because you wanted to distract yourself with real pain.” She rolls over then and looks up at Snow, all soft and somber, no longer sympathetic but understanding. When she nods Snow nods back. “Regina, I understand more about pain than you think, and I understand you better than you think too.” That has her smiling which makes Regina smile too. “Let me help, don't shut me out.”

 

Regina's nodding and that's when the tears start to flow again. Snow's lays down next to her, wraps her arms around her and lets her cry. It's a strange thing to admit, but it's actually nice to not cry alone.

* * *

  
  
But this time, this time she won't be stopped from moving back into the darkness. Robin's not just gone now, he's dead. His soul obliterated. Or at least, that's what Hades said. She had hugged her sister and cried with her in the moment, but now all she wants to do is rip her to shreds. She's the one that told everyone to trust Hades and look where it got them! Robin's lifeless body laying on her office floor.    
  
Every time she closes her eyes she can see him smiling at her, reaching out to her. It was as if he was saying I love you, I'm sorry, I don't regret this, and goodbye, all in that one look. It was like she could feel him communicating that to her. Then all too quickly he disappeared.    
  
She's where she was before, the first time he left her, leaning back against the door of her home, a home she shared with him.    
  
She opens her eyes and pushes herself from the door with a hard kick back into it. She yanks her coat off and throws it into a heap on the ground, then unzips her boots and flings them from her feet with a harsh kick of her legs. Her fingers are fisting in her hair now as she grunts in frustration.    
  
He was supposed to be her forever, her always, now he's just gone. She heard his words in her head, "you are my future," playing over and over. She can't take it, his voice on repeat in her mind.    
  
She just starts screaming to block the sound, to block everything. She screams and screams and screams until her throat is raw and burning.    
  
She doesn't feel better. She can still hear his voice swimming around in her thoughts.    
  
"I'm here for you, always."    
  
She drops to her knees and starts pounding the floor with her firsts.    
  
"We're here now, and this is true."    
  
His damn voice won't stop. She covers her ears with her hands and rocks back and forth while she's moaning so she can hear any other sound but his voice.    
  
She can't take it. She wants to explode, wants to squeeze her hands against her skull until she can't hear anything at all.    
  
She leans forward and rests her forehead against the hardwood. It's cool and it helps with the throbbing behind her skull.    
  
His voice is gone now, if only for a little while, she knows it will return. But, while it's gone she is going to be grateful.    
  
She loves his voice, adores it. Especially when he's close to her ear and whispering something only for her. It always sent chills up and down her spine when he would rasp something suggestive in her ear. His accent smooth and calming. The way he spoke certain words, the different emphasise he would put on them, it always made her smile.    
  
His vocabulary was another thing that would make her lips tip up at the sides. When he used words like love or mate. Even tosser or wanker. They all made her smile.    
  
She loved getting to learn what all those new words meant, even expanded her own vocabulary a little. Most of them became hidden insults they could throw around without other people catching on.    
  
Now, now the thought of his voice only brings her pain. She knows the only time she will hear it is in her own head.    
  
He's dead.    
  
She will never hear his voice again. Never hear him speak her name. Never heard him say I love you. It's too much. She slaps the ground again and the entire house shakes.    
  
She used her magic to cause an earthquake. It wasn't her intention, but she doesn't care. It felt good, to let loose a little power. She does it again and can hear the chandelier in the dining room rattle.   
  
She should stop. If she keeps going she'll cause an earthquake so massive all of Maine will feel it.   
  
Massive.   
  
That's a word he used to use. His thick accented voice rasping it out.   
  
How is it possible to miss someone so much? Especially since they've only just been taken from you.   
  
It's the knowing, the knowing they'll never come back.   
  
When someone goes away for a little while, it's sad, yes, but bearable because they will return at some time. But knowing they'll never return, that they can't, it's deeply painful.   
  
How do people live with this pain? How did she live with this pain after Daniel?   
  
Oh, right. She turned into the Evil Queen.   
  
If that's what she became after losing Daniel, what will she do after losing Robin?   
  
Yes, she loved Daniel deeply. He was her first love. He was very special to her. But Robin was her soulmate, her true love, her happy ending.   
  
Some happy ending.   
  
She can't, absolutely can not revert back to the Evil Queen. She's worked so hard to change, to be better. Robin helped her be better. He wouldn't want her to become evil again, to revert to her old ways. He was so proud of the progress she's made towards becoming a hero, he wouldn't want her to throw all of that away.    
  
For him she won't revert. But she needs to do something to help with her pain, her loss.    
  
Yet, nothing ever will.

 

* * *

 

She'd sent Zelena away after they'd both calmed down a bit, told her she wanted some time with him, alone. Zelena agreed surprisingly quickly, grabbed the baby and poofed away. 

 

Once she was alone she leaned over him, took hold of his head to pull it off the ground.

 

“Please don't leave me,” she whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek to land on his, “can you please wake up.” As she leaned towards him she closed her eyes and prayed this would work. 

 

Her lips connected with his, softly and slowly, only for a second, before she pulled back and looked down at him, waiting. After a long moment of nothing she tried again a bit harder this time, a bit longer. Nothing. 

 

She leaned down to kiss him again but ended up sobbing against his lips because it wasn't working and it wasn't going to work. Robin was gone, lost to her forever. 

 

* * *

 

 

As she walks back into her office a few days later she looks around the empty room then to the spot where Robin lay the night he lost his life. It's the first time she's been back here since he died and it's hard to just be in the room. Harder still when she closes her watery eyes and she can see him lying there again. 

 

She falls to her knees then sits in the same place on the floor she sat for hours just looking at his limp body. When she squeezes her eyes closed multiple tears fall down her cheeks and hit the floor as she runs her hand over the floor in front of her. 

 

All of a sudden she pushes to her feet angrily. “I'm standing here alone now and it doesn't seem fair.” She harshly whispers. “I wish I was the one to plunge that crystal into Hades chest.” it would have felt better if she were the one that killed Hades, but at least he's dead all the same. 

 

“I wish I would have reacted faster and stopped him, stopped you.” She wraps her arms around her stomach when she starts having trouble breathing. Hades gave her plenty of time to do something. She could have poofed them all out of there, materialized the crystal from his hand to hers, thrown a fireball at him to distract him. But she did none of it. Just stood there.

 

“You knew what would happen and you still did it.” She throws her arms apart and clenches her fists. “I am so angry with you for being so stupid!” She screams. “This was supposed to be me! I was supposed to die! He wanted me not you!” She outright screams then and turns around to throw a chair from the table over, then another, then the bowl of apples is slung across the room and she's on her knees again sobbing into her hands. “It would have been easier if it were me.”

 

“I miss you. Your children miss you.” She's back to whispering now that she's calmed down. The things she's about to say, she doesn't think she'll be able to get them out other than in a whisper. “Roland has been so strong through all this.” He's much like his father. “And little Robin, Zelena named the baby after you,” she chuckles, “she thought it would be a good way to honor you but it only reminds me that you're not here. She's grown so much and you're missing it.” Then she thinks of Henry comforting her at the funeral, putting on a brave face for her sake. “Henry misses you too, you were such a good influence on him, Robin.” 

 

There's footsteps at the bottom of the stairs so she quickly wipes at her eyes and stands to her feet. “I'll make sure they always remember you, and that Robin knows you. You will be alive in our hearts. Always.” She whispers so whoever's about to make their way to her won't hear. 

 

Being thankful to see Snow is an odd feeling, but she thought it might be her sister coming up the stairs and she doesn't think she can look at her right now, not standing in this room. 

 

Snow gives her a quick, tight, sympathetic smile but doesn't step past the threshold. “I just wanted to check on you, make sure you weren't setting the place a blaze.”

 

Regina manages to smile at that and gives a quick, “no.”

 

“Alright, I'll leave you.” Snow nods at her and gives the room a once over. She won't be able to look at the mayor's office the same way either.

 

“I'll just be a minute,” Regina tells Snow before she heads back downstairs.

 

Alone again she walks over to the door and leans against the frame to look around the room one more time.

 

When she takes a deep breath and quiets her mind it's like she can almost feel him in the room, reaching out to her, hear him just about to whisper something.

  
She closes her eyes and whispers, “I know.”   



	3. A Quiet Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 38\. Are we good parents?  
> 12\. We can't keep this up forever.
> 
> #OQAngstFest
> 
>  
> 
> I am very vague about an incident (you guys can probably pretty much figure out what happened, though) in this part because I don't want to completely spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it. It's a pretty important detail. Hopefully y'all read this and want to go watch the movie!
> 
> All the signing will be in italics just in case there's confusion. There isn't going to be much actual dialog in this.
> 
> Most of this will follow the movie pretty closely, or as closely as I can get it, but I'm planning on changing things towards the end. I can't keep everything the same, that would be boring.
> 
> If you haven't seen the movie I highly suggest you do! Emily Blunt was so brilliant in it! She made me cry, she made me cringe, she made me feel everything she did. One of the best actresses and one of my favorites. John Krasinski put on so many hats for this movie and he smashed them all! And these kids were such good little actors!
> 
> The film was simply magnificent and heartbreaking and suspenseful and terrifying with a beautiful theme of family throughout.

* * *

 

 

**A Quiet Place**

  
  
Regina is careful as she steps up onto the stool and reaches to hang the mobile of plush little ducks, a barn and various other farm themed things. She drops a hand to her steadily rounding stomach as she steps back down to the ground then reaches out to spin it with the other and admire her handy work a bit. It is the best she can do with the situation they're in, but for what they have it is perfect. Their little baby will have cute little quiet things to look up at from the crib.    
  
After the mobile is set she walks over to the oxygen tank and carries it back beside the makeshift crib. After connecting the tube she places the baby sized mask in the crib next to the stuffed teddy bear then sits the lid back over the box turned crib. As she runs a hand over the top it doesn't feel right, putting a lid over her future child's crib, but it is something they will have to do in order to survive.   
  
Not wanting to think about it anymore she heads for the stairs after glancing at her other two children who are both steadily working on plastering newspaper to the wall for extra soundproofing. They certainly got lucky with their children, both so smart and brave. They've been so strong through all of this.    
  
She drops a hand to the railing and slides the other below her stomach before she starts to slowly climb the steps to check on dinner. It is becoming more difficult to step on the paint covered areas because she can barely see them with her protruding stomach, but after close to a year of living this way she pretty much has the pattern memorized.    
  
Even with her thick gloves she can still feel the heat of the handles on her palms as she pulls the fish out of the underground smoker pit, she's careful not to let the heavy metal tray bump against the sides and create a loud sound. Once it's free she sighs in relief and stands to sit it on the metal counter. She looks at her older son setting the table until he looks up at her so she can motion to the room his fathers in. Henry shakes his head immediately because he doesn't want to go talk to his father, hasn't wanted to since that tragic day all those months ago. But she nods again and he's rolling his eyes as he walks past her to fulfill her request.   
  
She watches him go and sighs. It's been hard to see the strain their relationship is under and not really have a way to fix it. They are all trying to deal with the loss as best they can, maybe this is just what they need for a while. It hurts her heart to see them both in so much pain and struggling with it, much the same way she is. All of their lives were changed that day.   
  
They sit down at the dinner table and she passes around the fish and vegetables to be plated on large lettuce leaves, a quieter option to plates. Once everyone's portions are served she raises her hands and waits for everyone to connect theirs then bows her head. Prays for her family, their health, their safety, thanks the Lord above for the life they have because so many other families weren't so fortunate. When she opens her eyes everyone else is already finished and waiting. They all release hands at the same time and start their meal.    
  
There isn't much talking around the dinner table these days, or signing rather. There's an unspoken tension when her husband and oldest son are anywhere near one another that bleeds to everyone.   
  
Once the meal is finished she sends the children to play a boardgame while she and Robin clean up. They worked so diligently earlier, they deserve to relax. They chose to play Monopoly, but with knitted shapes and cut up pieces of felt rather than the pieces made for the game. It is too risky to play with the metal pieces as they make noise when they are bounced against the cardboard board.    
  
Suddenly there's a loud crash of glass breaking and she nearly jumps out of her skin. She turns to see her husband patting out a small fire from the lamp that was apparently knocked over by Roland.    
  
They all freeze. She feels her hands protectively wrap around her stomach as her husband stands and spins to face her slowly. It's a long couple of beats as he glances around the room and listens intently for any sound, but she's stepping closer to him, watching him, so if he hears something she doesn't she'll know.   
  
It's been at least a minute with nothing, a minute without even breathing. When she sees him relax she feels herself do the same with a large exhale and turns to resume what she was doing with a hand on her forehead as she tries to steady her heart rate.    
  
There's a loud crash on the roof and all the tension and fear are back instantly. She jumps and feels her heart stop.    
  
They're here. They've found them.   
  
Her husband walks slowly towards the window to attempt to locate the noise and she sees Henry stand and start to follow him. For a second she thinks she should go over to stop him, but her husband does that with an outstretched hand. Henry actually listens and doesn't take another step, just ducks where he's standing to try and see what's going on for himself.    
  
She watches the back of Robin's head and waits for him to let them know what to do. As soon as he sees what's going on he'll let them know which escape plan they need to enact.   
  
Something falls from the roof and they all jump.   
  
What if this is it? What if they can't protect their children again?    
  
But he's turning around with a relieved sigh and she drops her head into her hands to cover the sob she lets out.   
  


* * *

  
  
Robin's not anywhere in the barn and she knows exactly where he's gotten to. There's only one place he'd go to be alone, the one place that the children aren't allowed. She treads across the sand path spread over the ground that stretches from the barn to the house. One of the many that lead to any place they might need to go and help reduce the risk of stepping on something that might be too loud. She moves slowly across the painted wood of the porch steps, then the hardwood of the entry floor and is careful of her footsteps. There are several smatters of paint for her to choose from in there and it's taken her a while to find the easiest pattern to follow.   
  
As she walks down the steps to the basement she sees him, exactly where she knew he would be, hunched over his magnifying glass fiddling with parts and pieces of old hearing aids. It's been his pet project, all of his spare time going to figuring out a way to give their son back his hearing. Henry's hearing aid had broken a few weeks into the invasion and there wasn't really a place they could take it to get it fixed.    
  
Ever since the incident and the separation between them started to grow he's been obsessed with it. He is determined to figure out a way to make a hearing aid that will work if it kills him. It's as if he thinks that by giving their son his ability to hear that it will somehow mend their relationship, but it's going to take more than that and deep down he knows it. But as a first step it's not bad.    
  
She shuffles over to him and wraps her arm around his shoulders to rest her head on his back. The tension in his shoulders melts away beneath her cheek as she rubs a hand against his chest. When he sighs and relaxes she closes her eyes and does the same.    
  
After a moment she places a kiss between his shoulders and stands to turns his face towards her with a hand against his cheek. She just looks at him a while, waiting him out, hand on her hip, eyebrows raised in silent question.   
  
He responds by motioning his hand around his face to sign the word  _ beautiful _ as he smiles up at her. He's trying to be serious, but she can't help herself. She puffs her cheeks out slowly to insinuate that she's gotten fat with the pregnancy, and she is a little puffier than usual but nothing too extreme. Luckily she's mostly bump.    
  
He smiles at her joke, brings a finger to his lips and shakes his head to sign  _ I didn't say anything, _ and it has her pressing her lips together to suppress a laugh.    
  
It's in these moments right here that she forgets that they are in constant danger of being heard.    
  
Using their joined hands she pulls him to his feet then raises their arms to spin under them. Right now she wants to dance with her husband and distract them both from their troubles for a bit longer. He seems to understand what she's going for and steps in closer to her to slide his hands over her hips and start to sway then both back and forth.    
  
When he rests their foreheads together she pulls out one of her earbuds and puts it in his ear so he can hear the music she's listening to. "Harvest Moon" by Neil Young is now playing in both of their ears as they sway together. How she wishes things could always be like this. The two of them just being able to dance together to music played through a speaker rather than headphones, and maybe even be able to sing along. She misses the sound of his voice, especially his singing voice.    
  
There were many times in the past that he'd put music on, slip up behind her and start singing in her ear. She absolutely loved it. He'd dance her around the kitchen or the den and sing along to the song he picked. They are memories that she cherishes.    
  
She pulls back to look into his eyes but he won't look up at her. His hands rub against the sides of her stomach and he keeps looking painfully down at it. He feels guilty, has said as much before. Blames himself for the pregnancy, keeps saying he was too careless.    
  
She thinks back to that night, to their argument, to their violent signing at one another. It had been a particularly hard day, they'd had another close call and the incident from their last one was brought back into the light. It wasn't something they spoke about, ever, she'd cried with him holding her every night and pressing her face into his chest to muffle her sobs, but they didn't speak about it. Neither of them could. They'd both been so emotional, so angry, it all happened so fast. One second they were shooting daggers at one another, the next they were kissing and pulling off clothing. Normally they'd be more careful, but they were both so worked up, so open and raw, that they were coming together before either of them considered the consequences. They had no form of protection, no condom, no birth control, normally he'd pull out, but that time he didn't.   
  
She didn't think anything of it until she woke up woozy one morning a few weeks later. That got her to thinking about her long missed cycle and why she was always so tired.    
  
The next time they went in to town for supplies she snuck a pregnancy test into her bag and took it the second they got home. It was positive, of course it was, all the symptoms were there.    
  
It was terrifying.   
  
Robin walked in while she was sitting frozen, staring at the plus sign in front of her. He took the test from her hand before she registered he was even there then pulled her immediately into a hug.    
  
They both knew how dangerous this was. He was there for the births of their other children, and it wasn't exactly a smooth and quiet experience. She was screaming bloody murder towards the end.    
  
How was this going to work?    
  
How the hell were they going to keep a baby quiet!   
  
This was going to put all of them at risk. How were they supposed to protect their family with a screaming baby?    
  
She could tell all those thoughts were swimming through their minds when she pulled back to look into his glassy eyes. He signed  _ we'll figure it out, we just have time to come up with a way to make this work. We will make this work.  _   
  
It was a promise he kept. The very next day he started brainstorming a way to make a soundproof crib or soundproof a room. He came up with the oxygen mask, it would help calm the baby and mellow it out a bit.    
  
He'd thought of everything, and just in time too.   
  
They are still swaying with her 37 week belly pressed between them and he can't take his eyes off it. This all does seem a bit more real pressed together the way they are. The last time they did something like this there wasn't a baby between them.    
  
Now there's going to be this new child to protect when they both feel they're already failing the two they have.   
  
But what kind of parents are they if they can't protect their children?   
  
They will protect them. 

 

There's a tear escaping from his emotion creased eyes. He normally hides his fear and his worry behind a harsh mask because he has to always be the strong one, but in this moment they are all coming to the surface and she's oddly calm.

 

There have been moments that she's looked down at her belly and started panicking because it's terrifying thinking of having to go through labor silently and trying to keep the baby quiet after that seems impossible. It keeps her up at night thinking of her due date creeping closer and closer. But right now, here with him, her mind feels serene and quiet. She knows he will do anything and everything in his power to protect her and their children because he's a good man and a good father. 

 

Normally he's the one consoling her, calming her down, but it's her turn to be the strong one. She moves her hands to his at her stomach and looks down with him. He flexes his fingers against her belly and she slides her hands up to grip his wrists. 

 

As they continue to sway he cups the back of her head and kisses her forehead for a long moment. It's emotion charged and tender, has her eyes welling up with tears as well.

 

When he pulls away she looks up at him and he finally looks at her, really looks at her. They both know the gravity of the situation they've found themselves in, but as long as they are together they'll find a way through it.

 

He draws her hand to his lips, then presses it against his chest as he continues to gently rock them back and forth to the music.

 

* * *

 

The next morning she tugs the bandage wrapped around her arm between her teeth while she pulls with her other hand. Once it's secure on her arm she pumps the blood pressure gauge until it's full then starts to release. She writes her findings down as she does every morning then pulls out the stethoscope to check the baby's heart rate. The further down her stomach she has to slide the end the further her heart sinks. She finds the strong heartbeat at the very bottom of her belly. The baby's dropped so much within twenty four hours that she's afraid she won't make it to her three weeks away due date. That's terrifying. 

 

She's been holding onto every precious day they have before the baby comes, because once it does they will be in danger every second. Keeping a baby quiet  _ all the time _ is probably the most impossible task in the world. But they have to do it, they have to keep the baby safe, they have to keep all their children safe. 

 

She closes her eyes and takes a few steady breaths as she listens to the beat of her baby's heart. The smooth, rhythmic beat. 

 

* * *

 

 

Regina tells Roland to carry over the three when he seems to be struggling with his math homework, and he figured it out instantly. When he looks up at her, questioning, she emphatically signs  _ amazing, _ which gets a smile out of him. 

 

They both see Robin walk in downstairs and he's signing  _ time to go,  _ then he's walking back out with his backpack and Roland's. Roland looks at her, terrified, and sighs  _ please don't make me go.  _

 

He's supposed to go with his father to the river today to learn how the fish traps work and how to retrieve the fish. They both agreed that Roland needs to know how to do these things should anything ever happen to him. He wants them to be able to survive without him. 

 

She immediately signs,  _ you'll be fine. Your father will protect you. Always.  _

 

Roland takes her hand and looks a little less nervous, but she can tell he's still reluctant to go. He's been a bit traumatized to leave the house ever since the incident, and she can't blame him.

 

_ Listen to me,  _ she signs.  _ It's important that you learn these things…  He just wants you to be able to take care of yourself.  _ She pauses when he looks down for a second, thinking. When he looks back up she continues,  _ to take care of me.  _

 

That was a very heavy thing to say to a young boy so she decides to make it a bit lighter by following it up with,  _ when I'm old… and grey… and I have no teeth.  _ She pulls her lips over her teeth to give the impression of only having gums and gives him a face that has him finally smiling and laughing silently. 

 

She signs  _ don't worry, _ then mouths it and pulls him in to kiss his forehead, messes his hair while her lips are still peppering his forehead with kisses. 

 

Once they are outside Robin straps the backpack on Roland and makes sure it's secure. She can see Roland sign  _ I don't want to go,  _ but she can't see what Robin responds with because his back is to her. It's something to convince him that everything's going to be alright, she's sure, but Roland still looks terrified. 

 

Henry suddenly walks up to them from behind her and tells his father,  _ I'll go,  _ but Robin tells him,  _ I need you to stay and help your mother.  _

 

Robin walks over to her and kisses her cheek, just as he does every time before he leaves her.

 

_ I want to go,  _ Henry enthusiastically signs when Robin turns to leave.

 

Robin shakes his head and signs,  _ just stay here… you'll be safe. _

 

But Henry doesn't want to hear it, he pushes at his father's arm and walks away from them in a quiet huff. 

 

When she looks from Henry to Robin he signs,  _ next time,  _ and with that she's watching her family walk away.

 

* * *

 

 

Doing laundry has become a much more tedious and time consuming task since it has to be done quietly. Regina has to slowly move the fabrics through the soapy water to be sure it isn't too loud. 

 

Once she's finally done she hoists the strap of one heavy bag filled with wet clothing over her shoulder and lifts the other one to take them both up the steps slowly. A few steps in she struggles to pull one of the bags up with her, she pulls it a bit harder and it still doesn't budge. It is a pretty heavy bag but it feels like it's hooked on something. After one more firm tug she feels the bag release and she's falling forward against the steps. She catches herself before she falls too far forward and grabs the bag and stops it from tumbling down the steps. None of that was too terribly loud which has her sighing in relief before she continues up the steps, not at all aware of the sharp point of a nail now sticking straight up on one of the steps. 

 

* * *

 

 

As she's hanging the newly washed clothes on the line just outside the house she looks up at one of the windows and decides to go up to the room in the corner of the house. She's been wanting to for a while now, since she's alone she feels she can.

 

The steps of the house have paint squares on them as well and she's careful to step only on them as the climbs them to the second floor. She straightens one of the family pictures hung on the wall in the hallway as she passes it and smiles at the memory of when life was so much happier. 

 

It's strange being in this room, she hasn't entered it since before the incident, hasn't been able to bring herself too. They don't go upstairs in the house often, it's too dangerous, too loud, too many things that could make a sound. A good excuse not to come up, but she couldn't put it off any longer. As she sits down in the chair by the window she takes the room and it's contents in, they bring tears to her eyes. 

 

She sits there until the sun goes down, only then does she push herself from the chair. The boys will be home soon and she needs to get ready for supper. 

 

Before she leaves she grabs a picture frame to take with her since she likely won't come back up here for a while. She stops to admire the picture inside then clutches it tightly in one hand to take it downstairs safely.

 

She takes two steps towards the door then starts to feel a tightening in her belly. It's a feeling she recognizes, one she's familiar with. She takes two more steps and stops to grab hold of the doorknob when she feels something running down her leg. Eyes wide and mouth open she looks down to see blood tinged liquid spread on the floor between her feet. 

 

After that she moves quickly, but cautiously, to get down the steps. Just as she reaches the bottom she sucks in a shaky breath and has to sit down. Her grip on the railing tightens with her stomach. She closes her eyes and breathes slowly and deeply through the contraction that's far too powerful for this to be early labor, which means it isn't. 

 

When the contraction ends she heads for the basement to switch the lights from white to red so Robin knows something's wrong the second he enters the camp. It's a warning system he came up with that she could use if something was wrong and when she went into labor just in case he was away from the house, that way he'd know the second he was within eyesight that something wasn't right. 

 

She takes the steps a bit quicker than she normally would, but she is in a hurry to get down there and switch the lights before another contraction comes. A few steps from the bottom something incredibly sharp pierce's her foot, she lets out a grunt and the picture frame flies out of her hand to shatter on the ground. Sitting down on the steps she rests her head on her knee for a moment to compose herself as much as she can. The stabbing pain in her foot can only mean one thing, there's a nail piercing through it. Her hands grip either side of her foot and she takes a deep breath before she tugs it up and off slowly. It still hurts like hell but she definitely needs to keep moving and turn the lights now, she made a pretty loud sound a moment ago and she can hear something upstairs. 

 

Putting weight on it hurts something awful and nearly has her stumbling back into the steps. One hand flies under her stomach and the other to the support pole beside the steps. She takes another stumbling step towards the fuse boxes, it's a bit easier now, but no less painful. After flipping the switch and changing the lights she walks back to the end of the steps, eyes on the nail all the while, she won't be subjected to that torture twice. When she looks up she sees one of the creatures then hears the awful sound they make and she stumbles backwards fearfully. 

 

Stay quiet, stay quiet, stay quiet, she tells herself as she leans against the pole and takes some deep breaths through a contraction. The creature will venture down to her at any moment, she needs to think of a way to get out. In the basement she's blocked in, only one entrance and exit. She needs a distraction. 

 

Stumbling over to the shelves at the other end of the steps she scours them for anything that can be helpful. The creature suddenly sounds closer, she jumps and looks up the staircase to be sure it's not coming down yet. It's nowhere in sight so she still has some time. Crouching down she looks over the lower level but comes up empty. When she stands back up she check the middle shelf once more for anything that can serve as a distraction. On the far right side there's a kitchen timer and she thanks God above for it because that's perfect. 

 

The second she has the timer in her hand a powerful contraction takes hold of her belly and it's all she can do not to make a sound. She closes her throat, squeezes her eyes shut and doesn't release a breath until she's semi under control. Breathe, she tells herself, breathing will help with the pain. 

 

The timer is carefully placed down on the metal shelf and she slowly starts to squat down. The hand now free of the timer grips onto the shelf for balance and something to squeeze while the other holds onto her belly. The first fer breaths she takes are short and shaky because she's terrified and in pain, but then her brain shifts to determined and they become deeper and stronger. She is going to make it out of this, for her baby's sake. She is going to do this.

 

When the contraction finally ends she stands back up and grabs the timer. The ground beneath her is wet with amniotic fluid and blood but she keeps moving still.

 

The timer gets left across the room, set to thirty seconds to give her plenty of time to hide and the creature time to find it. Behind the hot water heater is the perfect hiding place, it's directly across from the stairs and big enough to hide her. She leans back against it and waits.

 

The lights behind her suddenly go dark and she can hear the creature coming down the steps. She slowly peers from behind her hiding place to see the tall, intimidating form of the creature reaching the bottom of the steps. It's making its way to the other side of the room, thank God, so she returns to her hiding place to wait quietly for the timer to go off any second. 

 

Just as she turns back around another contraction starts to build. Her mouth drops open but her throat seals shut against the scream she so badly wants to let loose. She's not going to be able to breathe quietly enough so she bites down on her hand and slowly slides down the side of the large hot water heater. The hand between her teeth shifts to cover her mouth as she tries to breathe slowly through her nose. 

 

She's still in the middle of the contraction when the timer goes off and the creature loudly thrashes it's way over to the harsh sound, but she forces herself to move and crawls up the steps while the thing is distracted. Once she's on the first floor she makes a b-line for the front door but turns and hides behind the frame when she sees another creature in the yard.

 

There's only one option left now, up the stairs to the second floor. She wastes no time in heading up there, it's her last chance to get away. 

 

_ To be continued… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More to come for Inspired by OQ Week.
> 
> I will also probably come back in and edit this once I'm home from vacation. It was thrown together very quickly. Apologies.


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